Medical Examiner Rules Student’s Death an Accident

The January death of SMU sophomore Joseph Hunter Green, 21, has been ruled an accident, a spokeswoman for the Dallas County Medical Examiner confirmed Sunday night.

The manner and cause of Green’s death was determined to be “mixed drug and alcohol intoxication,” said the spokeswoman, who asked not to be named. Green’s family was notified earlier this week when the results came back. They have not yet issued a statement.

The Medical Examiner’s office would not release the full list of substances found in Green’s body over the phone. A copy of the full autopsy report has been ordered and should be available mid-week.

Green was found unresponsive in his room at the SMU House at 3004 SMU Blvd. on Friday, Jan. 22. A 911 call to the University Park Police Department revealed an unnamed caller thought Green might have committed suicide. The caller said he received a “suspicious” email that morning which prompted him to go to the SMU House to check on Green.

Green was pronounced dead at the scene by the Dallas County Medical Examiner at 12:36 that afternoon. A statement issued by SMU immediately following news of Green’s death said the SMU Police Department and the Texas Rangers, the law enforcement agencies charged with investigating the case, did not suspect “foul play.”

In the fall of 2009, Green transferred to SMU from the University of Central Florida. He attended SMU’s campus in Taos, N.M. with a small group of students taking part in the program’s inaugural fall class. Green had only been on SMU’s main campus in Dallas for a few days before he died. University spokesman Kent Best said at the time of Green’s death that Green was not affiliated with a Greek organization.